Movies & TV

The year is nearly over and, while 2017 may not have featured the same rash of beloved celebrity deaths as 2016, it certainly gave us copious reasons to stress out. Whether your reasons are personal, professional, political, or otherwise, a year like this can make it hard to get that warm holiday feeling. Luckily, nothing cheers us up like festooning the hearth with colorful tchotchkes and embarking upon a good old-fashioned Christmas TV binge.Many of us grew up on classic Christmas television specials, which tend to be warm, fuzzy affairs depicting traditional characters like Rudolph, Frosty, and old Saint Nick himself. We love those, but they’re (mostly) not available for free. Further, while we love the classics, we also love the special Christmas episodes of our favorite TV shows, which usually offer more creative — yet still festive — takes on the holiday. So, we’ve collected our favorite easy-to-stream episodes and the best Christmas specials in an … [Read more...] about The best Christmas TV episodes and specials

Every year, Digital Trends editors hand pick the most exciting products we’ve had the privilege of handling this year. Make sure to check out award winners in categories from cars to computers, plus the overall best product of 2017! Read on for the movies, shows and music that floored us this year. Blade Runner 2049For the second year in a row, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has given audiences the most thrilling, thought-provoking, and genuinely beautiful cinematic experience to arrive in theaters. A film more than 30 years in the making, Blade Runner 2049 is more than just a sci-fi sequel. It’s a masterpiece of visual storytelling that looks and feels like no other movie made in recent years, and tells a tale rooted in one of the most fundamental mysteries of our existence: the nature of humanity.No stranger to blending cerebral, inward-gazing stories with eye-pleasing visuals, Villeneuve gave us last year’s alien encounter drama Arrival – the best movie of … [Read more...] about Best entertainment of 2017

Can a cast of popular actors help a sequel 22 years in the making live up to the legacy of the original film? Read on for our Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle review! Back in 1995, the original Jumanji gave audiences a thrilling, family-friendly adventure featuring a pair of orphaned siblings whose lives are upended when a mysterious board game brings all the wonder and danger of a fantastic jungle to life in their New Hampshire town. Celebrated director Joe Johnston packed heart, excitement, and laughs into the film, which also featured the late Robin Williams in one of his many memorable performances.More than two decades later, Bad Teacher and Sex Tape director Jake Kasdan brings the story of that iconic game back to the big screen in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a sequel to the 1995 film that gives it a contemporary update, more mature themes, and a cast of familiar faces. Although it doesn’t quite capture the same sense of wonder and suspense … [Read more...] about ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ review

Edgar Wright’s musical heist film Baby Driver hit theaters in June 2017 and earned crave reviews from critics and general audiences alike for the unique way it synchronized the action unfolding on the screen with its excellent soundtrack boasting music from multiple decades.Written and directed by Wright, Baby Driver cast The Fault in Our Stars actor Ansel Elgort as “Baby,” a supremely skilled getaway driver who depends on a steady stream of music in order to counteract the effects of tinnitus. When he finds himself on the run after a botched robbery, he has to find a way to protect the people he loves while evading both cops and killers.The task of crafting the blend of music, action, and sound effects that makes Baby Driver unlike any other movie in recent years fell to a team led by Julian Slater, a two-time Emmy nominee whose work on last year’s Mad Max: Fury Road was honored by the Motion Picture Sound Editors … [Read more...] about ‘Baby Driver’ was an entire film built around music. Here’s how they did it

Guillermo del Toro’s dark fantasy The Shape of Water made quite an impression — one might even call it a “splash” — when the first trailer for the film debuted in summer 2017 and finally revealed the mysterious project that has kept the filmmaker occupied the last few years.A moody, supernatural tale that chronicles the relationship between a lonely janitor and an aquatic humanoid creature held captive in a government facility, The Shape of Water earned rave reviews from professional critics and general audiences alike when it kicked off its limited run earlier this month. The film’s leading lady Sally Hawkins, villain Michael Shannon, and veteran creature actor Doug Jones have each earned well-deserved praise for their performances, which were supplemented by a talented team of visual effects artists that helped elevate Jones’ portrayal of the film’s mysterious merman to an impressive level.Guillermo invests in the visual … [Read more...] about How ‘The Shape of Water’ FX team and Guillermo del Toro built a better merman

Note: This article is loaded to the gills with spoilers. If you haven’t seen the film, you shouldn’t be reading this. In fact, we’d appreciate it if you’d just kindly turn away right now. Thanks! There’s a glorious, quintessential scene in Rian Johnson’s $200 million epic, The Last Jedi, that — as someone who grew up watching the original films dozens of times before I could even understand them — hit me like a ton of bricks.No, it wasn’t the shocking moment Vice Admiral Holdo takes out an entire battalion with a kamikaze jump to lightspeed. It also wasn’t when Snoke is stunningly disposed of by Kylo Ren’s masterful lightsaber Force push. It wasn’t even Luke’s defiant relishing of freshly squeezed, green alien milk in front of Rey, a scene which seems to have affected so many Star Wars geeks so strongly. (Most of whom, by the way, will happily choke down cow’s milk — have they ever even seen a … [Read more...] about ‘The Last Jedi’ is unlike any Star Wars film, and that’s what makes it so Star Wars

The Star Wars franchise is back from a galaxy far, far away, but is the Force with the new film? Read on for our Star Wars: The Last Jedi review! Two years ago, Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens reignited the Star Wars movie franchise and blasted box-office records on its way to becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time (by a margin of nearly $200 million) in U.S. theaters. Although 2016’s prequel film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, provided a bit of a buffer, make no mistake: This weekend’s Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi has a lot to live up to when it picks up where The Force Awakens left off.Star Wars fans can rest easy, though, because director Rian Johnson’s installment of the beloved sci-fi saga doesn’t just satisfy expectations — it triumphantly exceeds them.Directed and written by Johnson, The Last Jedi brings back The Force Awakens stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, … [Read more...] about ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ review

One of the biggest entertainment industry acquisitions since The Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm is now officially in the works: Disney has agreed to buy the bulk of 21st Century Fox’s movie and television assets for a whopping $52.4 billion, according to the New York Times.The deal was first rumored back in November, and the details were officially announced December 14. Although the acquisition still needs to be ratified by the Department of Justice, if it goes through as announced it will move a wide array of Fox movie and television properties under the Disney banner, with the exception of a few major elements: Fox News, Fox Sports, and the Fox broadcast network. The deal will also give Disney majority shareholder status with streaming video service Hulu — an important component of the deal, given Disney’s interest in creating its own streaming services to serve up properties like Marvel films, Star Wars films, and multiple others directly to your living … [Read more...] about Disney’s Deadpool? Netflix worries? What Disney’s billion-dollar Fox deal means

When Amazon debuted its Amazon Prime service more than a decade ago, CEO Jeff Bezos and company simply wanted to give their loyal band of customers a chance to save some scratch on shipping costs. As the service gained a massive subscription base, the company continued adding a slew of incredible perks, such as access to Prime Pantry, same-day delivery, and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Now, anyone with an Amazon Prime subscription has easy access to thousands of hit movies and TV shows, all with the simple click of a mouse. To help all you subscribers sift through Amazon’s massive library, we’ve taken up the task of finding the best movies currently available on the service. So pop some popcorn and find your favorite spot on the couch, here are the best movies on Amazon Prime.If you’re looking to use another streaming service, we’ve got you covered with our picks for the best movies on Netflix, best movies on … [Read more...] about More than free shipping: The best movies on Amazon Prime

Mickey Mouse and Wolverine are about to play nice, in a way. Today, December 14, the Walt Disney Co. and Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox have agreed to a $52.4 billion deal in which Disney will acquire many valuable assets from the Fox empire.As part of the deal, Disney will acquire Fox’s movie and TV production company, popular channel Star India, as well as a 39-percent stake in European broadcaster Sky. Disney also now owns a number of Fox’s pay-TV channels including FX, and National Geographic. Disney is not getting all that Fox has to offer, however, as Murdoch will still run the Fox News channel, the Fox broadcast network in the U.S., and the FS1 Sports network, as part of a new company spun off from 21st Century Fox.This deal also means Disney now has a majority stake in Hulu, a coup for the 94-year old media conglomerate as it prepares to launch a few of its own streaming services dedicated to its growing library of content. In November, Disney began pulling … [Read more...] about Disney acquires most of what you love about Fox for $52 billion in mega-deal